Bearings for roller conveyors



March 4, 1958 I L. A. COLLIS BEARINGS FOR ROLLER CONVEYORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 5, 1956 Fig .4.

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2mm M2 441 ATTORNEX? March 4, 1958 1.. A. COLLIS 2,825,439

, BEARINGS FOR ROLLER CONVEYORS Filed Nov. 5, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 MW; M42

ATTORNEYS United States Patent BEARINGS FORROLLER CONVEYORS Leslie Alfred Collis, Radlett, England; assignorto I. .Colli's & Sons Limited, London, England Application November 5, 1956, Serial Nb. 620,473

3 Claims; '(Cl 193-35) This invention relates" to conveyors. In the "conveyance of loads'on'a roller conveyorithe'ideal stateoffa'f fairs-would be where the tops of'all therollersare level" with one another and where the surface" of the load-in" contact with the rollers is a perfectplanesurface: in'that case, the rollers would convey the loadevenly.

In practice, however, such a stateof afiairs rarelyfif ever, is encountered. In the first place, it would be necessary to employ precision engineeringmethods' of conistruction, which is obviously uneconomic; In the second= place, the surface of the.load in contact with the rollers is almost invariablyirregular and the departure from the ideal state of affairs due to this cause: is greater than the departure due to non precision construction. The'same considerationsapply to conveyors known: as wheehcon veyors in which instead of rollers-wheels are -used,- the wheels being arranged in sets eachon a common. spindle;

In the case of the lighter type of such conveyors, the parts such as hearing races and 'so on are formed by metal pressings .and. are..therefore inclined to".-:be..noisy especially when, in a roller conveyor, the rollers are of tubular metal construction.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a construction of roller or wheel which can be produced by competitive engineering methods to ensure that they will share in carrying the load, despite irregularities in the load surface whereby the fatigue factor of the bearings is reduced and a reduction is elfected in operating noise.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figures l-6 are views showing the invention applied to a roller conveyor and Figure 7 is a view showing a wheel conveyor.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a central section through a beating intended for the heavier type of roller tube;

Figure 2 is a similar section of a modified form of bearing for a roller tube of medium carrying capacity, and

Figure 3 is again a central section through a construc- 2 cage-ls h'avin g a central opening 14 giving clearance to the s1eeve'10'whi'ch is mounted on a supporting spindle. 1

On. the 'outside' of theouter race'12 is arrangeda cylindrical' resilient component 17 0f rubber or-other re-" silientmaterial which is kept in place'about the outerrace 12 'by'a confining dished component. This component comprises an annular flange18 'Which accurately locates the'component tothe housing cage 15, a cylindrical wall portion '19 which embraces the outer surface of the resilient component 17 and an inwardly projecting annular flange 20 which extends inwardly' ov'er'theedge-of the component 17 andof the outer race 121 The confining component'is clear of the inner race 10 as is shown.

It will be clear that in the construction shownythe outer cage 15 although supported for free rotation, by the anti-friction bearing comprised of the outer race 12, theballs 11 and the inner race 10,'from a supporting spindle to-which theinner race 10 is fitted, can by'reason of-the resilienticomponent 17 accommodate itself to irregularities'inthe contacting surfaces ofthe load being conveyed-.

In the case of'a rollerconveyor, an assembly as'that shown in Figurel would behoused by its cage-15 at' each-end: of "a tubularrroller indicated at 16 in Figures 1 and 6: in the case of a wheel conveyor the cage itself could form the:load: engaging surfacesas is indicated in Figure 7, inz'whi'ch thewvheelsiare 'showniat 27,1the'wheels: being :mounted. in: groups on arsupport I28". witlL-Linterposed-distancepieces29s} It 'willlalso be. clear. that thehousing; cage 15:and the? I confining component 18, 19, Ztlprbvide theztwo'parts. of.

a housing protecting the balls 11, the outer race Hand tion of bearing adapted more particularly for the lighter type of roller tube;

Figure 4 is a central section through a modification of the bearing illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, which is applicable more particularly to the lighter type of bearing shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a section of a roller conveyor, and

Figure 7 is a plan view of a wheel conveyor.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, a roller bearing comprises a sleeve 10 which forms the inner race about which are disposed balls 11. The outer race comprises a cup-shaped member 12 which is adapted to fit over the balls 11 on one side and is open at the bottom to allow the balls to be placed in position. The balls 11 are positioned by a cover plate 13 which itself is positioned by a housing,

the rubber component :17. In this-,andin theothe'rlconstructions ofmbearing. hereinafter described the means-1 confining the elastic component between the outer race and, effectively the housing cage 15, is such that, whilst it holds the elastic component firmly in place, it does not compress it tightly so that the component is free to expand and contract with the various stresses imparted to the roller tube 16.

It has been found that when roller tubes 16 are supported by the bearing shown, the noise level at which the tubes 16 operate when a number is assembled to provide a conveyor is very considerably reduced: this can be due to the fact that because of the interposed rubber components 17 the impact on the bearings as the load passes from one tube 16 to another is reduced. This fact also contributes to a reduction in the fatigue factor which will result in an increased life for the bearings whether for a roller or for a Wheel.

In addition bearing parts 10-21 form .a self-contained unit which can be produced and assembled under factory conditions and then fitted to the tubes of a conveyor assembly; the accommodating action of the component 17 avoids the necessity for precise fitting in the roller assembly. Moreover, the unit can readily be removed and replaced by a similar fitting so enabling the maintenance of a roller conveyor to be simplified.

Figure 2 shows an arrangement intended primarily for a medium type of conveyor: the arrangement is substantially the same as shown in Figure 1, with the exception that the flange 18 (of the confining component) is dispensed with and the wall 19 is itself secured to the inside of the housing cage 15. A metal ring 21 is in this case also inserted between the resilient component 17 and the 5 outer race 12.

'resilient component 17 with recesses as shown at,;2 6,' the 13 PR li ment of Figure 3 is useful where it is inconvenient to tained bearing unit comprising an inner race to fit it have any portion of the confining means extending radif the pp all '0Hi1"IaCe{aI1Ii'-friii0n balls between Q -ally between the component 17 and the housing 15. t ef t y a housing to fit bfl tubular o a a V 'In the constructions so-far described, ila eepgfini ng; resilient componentflwithin the housing and interposed 7 means h b en yli dfi l TeTIhi anangemnt -i b; 5 between the housing and thetouter race with freedom to essential for; it is possible to have as is shown in- Fi ures expand and contract under lateral movement of the hous 4 and 5, a confining member ;in the form; of a circular ing with respect to the innerandiputer races. 7

me 24lprovidedewith pa d nu o f et 1 ol 'use i sup o inst ho t bular m r st o le s of a these feet extending into gaps 26 in the'circular resilient roller conveyor from astationary'support,"a self con component 17. Whilst it'is convenient also to form the 10 tained bearing unitteo npr' lng anv in otz 'a lq fi i te Q- it is also possible to have the component in therjorm races, a "ftwo-pai-t hgu of separate pieces-of rubber or other similar material and a resilient'Flofiipollefifiwithifi vlimlsifig 511d interwhich are arranged around the bearing. w posed between the housing and the outer rac'e with free- While theinvention has itsrniost important application doin to expand and contract under lateral movement of to conyeyor'rollers of th t bul fo ld l the housing with respect to the inner and outer races; bebeneficial when applied to rollers of *the'solid hind, A roller conveyor comprismg a assemblage of for the invention with its resilient me'ansj enables the veyor rollers each'in the form of 'ashollow metal tulge,

fatigue factor on the bearings to be reduced; t r A y V V r furthermore, while the disposition of-the resilient beefing unlts suppoflllngvlearch u l p "51 means fist most conveniently and advantageously .inter- Suppo t b a g; fini e. comprising an anti friction posed'direetly between the roller, (whether of tubular or hearing m n ed support, ,a housmg e e to solid form) or the 'wheel and the shaft byjwhich .it is roller d enclosing e anti-friction healing, and a r b r supported, the resilient means could be interposed be-v. v componelltwwilhili thehhyollsilrigi fldvimerposed between tween the'bearings and the stationary support bywhich the holising :aHd1hela11fi-fiidi0n a ng with freedom o ii tion lia i f between t nsg o ue. bu ar o r,

a stationary support for each rollenand' self-contained V the shaft'is carried and indeed the support itself could 9 expand and cofitrCt 2 ot fl 0f v Q 'g ps' be so carried with the advantageof reducing the fatigue 7 plied t0 o-t ifl facton: i r to In addition the invention can with advantage be applie v t m? Cited m h fi 11 s patent f 7 V to conveyor. rollers which run .on plain bearings. UNITEDSTATES PATENTS, r

n 'f o ppe claims, e e o l nd o ,107,822, Hahn Feh, 8,1938 7 nent has been employed as in dieatm g a conveyor roller 7: 2,158,364 j Hahh y 1 1939 or a wheel, the terms 'roller and whee being used 1 2,234,162 And f dn Man 41' g pa aro 1ntndede i g 2,262,443 Anderson- ;Nov; '11; 1941' 1. Foruse in supportihgthetubular metal rollers of .7 J Q E F P T N S 7' a roller conveyor from a stationary support, a 'self-con- M 706,868 r j Great. Britain Apr. '7; 1954 

